Building on examples within the Statutory Guidance, relevant behaviour of the perpetrator can include:
Isolating a person from their friends and family
Depriving them of their basic needs
Monitoring their time
Monitoring a person via online communication tools or using spyware
Taking control over aspects of their everyday life, such as where they can go, who they can see, what to wear and when they can sleep
Depriving them access to support services, such as specialist support or medical services
Repeatedly putting them down such as telling them they are worthless
Enforcing rules and activity which humiliate, degrade or dehumanise the victim
Forcing the victim to take part in criminal activity such as shoplifting, neglect or abuse of children to encourage self-blame and prevent disclosure to authorities
Financial abuse including control of finances, such as only allowing a person a punitive allowance
Control ability to go to school or place of study
Taking wages, benefits or allowances
Threats to hurt or kill
Threats to harm a child
Threats to reveal or publish private information (e.g. threatening to 'out' someone)
Threats to hurt or physically harming a family pet
Assault
Criminal damage (such as destruction of household goods)
Preventing a person from having access to transport or from working
Preventing a person from being able to attend school, college or University
Family 'dishonour'
Reputational damage
Disclosure of sexual orientation
Disclosure of HIV status or other medical condition without consent
Limiting access to family, friends and financeswww.cps.gov.uk/le
gal-guidance/controlling-or-coercive-behaviour-intimate-or-family-relationship
The Statutory Guidance outlines a non-exhaustive list of the types of evidence that could be used to prove the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour; the following list including and builds on the examples provided in the Statutory Guidance:
Copies of emails
Phone records
Text messages
Evidence of abuse over the internet, digital technology and social media platforms
Photographs of injuries such as: defensive injuries to forearms, latent upper arm grabs, scalp bruising, clumps of hair missing
999 tapes or transcripts
CCTV
Body worn video footage
Lifestyle and household including at scene photographic evidence
Records of interaction with services such as support services, (even if parts of those records relate to events which occurred before the new offence came into force, their contents may still, in certain circumstances, be relied on in evidence)
Medical records
Witness testimony, for example the family and friends of the victim may be able to give evidence about the effect and impact of isolation of the victim from them
Local enquiries: neighbours, regular deliveries, postal, window cleaner etc
Bank records to show financial control
Previous threats made to children or other family members
Diary kept by the victim
Victims account of what happened to the police
Evidence of isolation such as lack of contact between family and friends, victim withdrawing from activities such as clubs, perpetrator accompanying victim to medical appointments
GPS tracking devices installed on mobile phones, tablets, vehicles etc.,
Where the perpetrator has a carer responsibility, the care plan might be useful as it details what funds should be used for
Even where there is a decision to take no further action, prosecutors should ask police officers to advise the victim to take steps to gather records to support any future investigation. This might include:
A diary of events (ideally in a bound book or timed by keeping an electronic record) noting that there are potential risks to the victim if the perpetrator were to discover this;
Safely noting details of witnesses who may have observed or heard these events;
Storing messages or taping calls made by the defendant;
Safely speaking to neighbours, colleagues, family, friends or specialist support services